If Huntsman can show convincing signs he can win, the GOP isn't likely to quibble. |
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Huntsman’s departures from the party line on some consequential issues — same-sex marriage, the environment, immigration — will indeed be a lot for many conservatives to stomach. But there’s much in his record that could help a good portion of them get over it — opposition to abortion, tax cuts, school vouchers, resistance to George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind.

Just four years ago, the GOP nominated another Westerner who was loathed by many in the party for his own heresies. If Republicans begin to get a whiff that Huntsman can take down Obama, they’ll find a way to overlook his departures from conservative orthodoxy, too.

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The other knocks against Huntsman — his Mormon religion, service as Obama’s ambassador to China, his implausible pledge to run a civility-driven campaign — could also easily fade from view.

It’s been noted that Huntsman will suffer among evangelical voters for his Mormon beliefs — though there’s no conclusive evidence that such prejudice exists beyond the margins.

In the wake of signs he’s distanced himself from his LDS faith, there are also questions about whether Huntsman is thoroughly embraced by Mormons themselves. That may be true at the moment, but it’s worth remembering that there were once questions among African Americans about Obama’s authenticity. Even John F. Kennedy at one time had concerns about whether a lace-curtain Irishman could capture shanty Irish hearts.

Huntsman’s time as Obama’s man in Beijing and his promise to run a high-road campaign in a party that seethes with resentment against the president are undeniable challenges. But they cut both ways.

The right messaging can frame Huntsman as a patriot loyally serving his nation’s economic and national security interests on hostile terrain. The worries about a velvet glove approach against Obama? That’s what flame-throwing surrogates and vice presidential nominees are for.

The bottom line is that if Huntsman can show convincing signs that he can defeat Obama — and that’s his main selling point — the GOP isn’t likely to quibble over the route he took to get to that destination.

The strategic path the ex-governor has laid out isn’t as implausible as it sounds. Sure, it relies on a bank shot — skipping Iowa, catapulting out of New Hampshire and South Carolina toward a Florida showdown — but nearly every presidential campaign follows a similar calculus.

With Iowa off the table and Nevada likely to be dismissed because of Mitt Romney’s strength there, all Huntsman needs to do is win, place or show in New Hampshire and have a respectable finish in South Carolina to get to Florida, where his fortunes could be decided by whoever is left standing. It’s a scenario that’s well within the realm of possibilities.

New Hampshire and South Carolina, the linchpins to the Huntsman strategy, are uniquely suited for a candidate of his profile. Both have election rules that allow independent voters to cast ballots in their GOP presidential primaries, which work to the advantage of candidates who, like Huntsman, are unacceptable to core conservatives.

In 2008, John McCain laid out the blueprint in New Hampshire, which is home to an electorate with more unaffiliated voters than Republicans.

South Carolina, with its higher proportion of social conservatives, is a dicier proposition. But McCain also won there. And 48 percent of the primary vote went to McCain and Romney, a promising sign for Huntsman.

Take a look at some of the heavyweight South Carolina establishment names on Huntsman’s roster — people like Mike Campbell, son of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell, and former state Attorney General Henry McMaster. They wouldn’t put skin in the game if they didn’t see a path to victory.

By the way, this is a state that knows a little something about presidential politics — the winner there has gone on to be the GOP nominee in every election since 1980.

Readers' Comments (469)

The primary reason for the outburst of support for Huntsman by Politico and the rest of the media is this: the media feel confident that Obama will beat him. The support has nothing to do with Huntsman and everything to do with boosting Obama.

Huntsman is an Obama RINO. End of story. He's milquetoast in an age of MMA politics that's here to stay. The nation is divided and grows ever more so.

He will never be president and the base hates him. Without the base, he's wasting his and other's time and money.

Here's the real deal. The media (Democrat party - same thing), doesn't want a Republican candidate who will SHRED Obama and bring up lot's of challenging questions and issues during the campaign and debates - that Obama doesn't want brought up.

That's it. Period. And the base knows it. Which of course is why they want someone who will shred Obama on questions and issues he can't defend on or give a credible answer.

Huntsman; Successful governor, successful businessman, foreign policy experience in China and Asia (the part of the world from which our greatest competition is coming), calm, thoughtful, pragmatic conservative who can appeal to independents. We could do a lot worse.......

The base want's someone who will shred Obama on the issues and confront him with the questions that the Democrat lapdog media won't ask.

The American people want answers Obama. Your time is up. You had your chance to get America rolling and you blew it.

Your floundering and screwing around is a bucket of fail just as much as your history of divisive language and attitude has been. No more record golf outings or taking AF1 to buzz NYC or to Chicago for pizza for you - come the elections.

Help Wanted: A moderate Republican to seek nomination for the Office of Vice President of the United States. Must be (select all that apply) pro-China, pro-gay rights, pro-Obama, anti-gun, anti-small government, anti-Israel. Send all inquiries, resumes, salary requirements and references to Jon Huntsman, 2012 Rinoway, Salt Lake City, UT.

Buzzkill: "This is the reason his small base, largely in the media — the select group of pundits like Mark Halperin and the “Morning Joe” stars, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski — have been unabashed in their Huntsman swooning. We have our share of swooners here at POLITICO, too."

>>>> The media LOVEs John Huntsman, The Media elite's establishment "candidate" of choice. The man, Mike Allen, Vandehei, Halprin, Minka and NYT "pick" to take on their BOY, Barack Hussein O'bamaCarter.

Biggovt wrote this the other day on Huntsman:

".... the candidate whom Time has already deemed the “candidate Democrats most fear,” and whom theNational Journal is inexplicably calling a “formidable contender.” Then there is the New York Times which recently devoted 6000 words describing how Huntsman is uniquely suited to fill the “vacuum” left, I guess, by the six-to-seven other qualified candidates in the race. And where would Huntsman be without Politico, which has effectively served as Huntsman’s campaign website in waiting, running literally hundreds of features, articles, and blurbs about him in just the past month alone?

Yes, to many in the mainstream media Jon Huntsman is apparently the Most Interesting Man in the World. (He once dropped out of high school to play in a rock band. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, and Hokkien. His blood smells like cologne.) And given that Huntsman has nowhere to go but up in the polls, it’s safe to assume I think that this is only the beginning of the media’s love affair. Just wait until you see the fawning that will ensue after the next debate when Huntsman ever-so-calmly and politely declines to engage in any meaningful critiques of the President. I can feel the tingle up Chris Matthews’ leg already.

Hunstman was put in by Soros to infiltrate the Republican Party. Hunstman's relatives donated $25,000 to Harry Reid's campaign in November. Right about that time Jon Huntsman changed from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Again, this guy is a WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING!